Confessional

Forgive me, bloggers and blog readers, for I have sinned. It has been four months since my last post. During that time I've continued work (which has been a bit stressful at times), gone on holiday back to the States, had my first wedding anniversary, and have started going to Roller Derby practices (though as of late I've had to miss out because I've been under the weather).

It's been a bit hectic, all told. And I've not been the happiest of bunnies, all told. I've been over working myself at work (what can I say, I'm industrius), and have been desiring a project to work on, and have missed blogging. My super secret project is on hold at the mo, but I've done some major rethinking about my time management and what would make me happy, as well as what I'm interested in.

I've come to the conclusion that I want to take a more active role in my life, and I want a bit of adventure. I want to learn new things about topics I'm interested in, and I want to share that with you all. I finally came to the conclusion after reading Spook by Mary Roach and beginning to read Join Me by Danny Wallace. Both of whom decided to go out and DO something; Mary having done a load of really practical research about the idea of ghosts and the afterlife, and Danny bringing together a large collective of people seemingly by accident after he began his project on a whim.

I've come to realize that there are a lot of things that I don't know about and haven't experienced or learned for myself. I'm a skeptic and a reluctant atheist by nature, but haven't properly looked into the science and the religious enough to completely understand them. I don't think ghosts exist or that aliens abduct people, but at the same time, wouldn't it be kind of cool if some of that stuff were true? And how does brain function account for any of the aforementioned? Are some people more predisposed to believe in God, aliens, ghosts, or Bigfoot? The words "quantum physics" are bandied about by many, but how does quantum physics actually work?

I'm naturally inquisitive, and I soak up information like a sponge. What I'd like to do is learn as much as I can about things that I find genuinely interesting and that people seem to be divided on and share my findings on this blog.

I've now got a purpose! Let the adult education of Stephoodle begin...

Taking Care of Business

It's been almost a month since I've updated. Crazy how when you go from unemployed to working full time you spend much less time blogging and tweeting than you used to! I need to work on that.

The super secret project is plodding along. I've finally forced myself to complete a concrete summary/strip-by-strip outline of the story, because bits keep evolving in my head, and if I just let it go on I will never finish this. Most of the summary is complete; I'm just fidding with how things will go during the climax, as there are many threads to tie in and I might need a short flashback to lead up to it (and I'm not sure how to integrate that yet without disturbing the flow of the narrative). I'm also looking at comic books and artists I enjoy in order to nail down the overall look. I have some ideas (and all the characters but one are nailed down), but I'll need to experiment a bit before I find what fits. Normally my style is fairly static, but I would love to put much more energy into my lines and images, like Dave McKean, Craig Thompson, and a few others I can't quite remember off the top of my head.

Michael and I ended up watching a show about Picasso on BBC1 last night, and it was amazing and inspiring. His paintings are another reason I want to try to capture more emotion and energy in my work. I also now have a really strong desire to paint again, on large canvases; maybe even try oils. And learning that Picasso worked in so many varied mediums (more than I knew he had) makes me worry less about the fact that I like to create so many different kinds of things. It made me want to work with fimo clay again, too, and get my Etsy store back up and running with new products. I'll be working towards that over the next few weeks.

We're heading off to a wedding in Glasgow next weekend (volcanic ash permitting). It'll be my first trip to Scotland! Yay! And I met a good chunk of people that are going to be there this past weekend at a housewarming party, so I won't feel as awkward as I could have. This is good.

The weekend after the wedding, we're having a party of our own for Eurovision! It's my first one ever. I still don't quite get it, but it seems like good, awful fun. There will also be much Rock Band and SingStar and crazy board games and (of course) Doctor Who. Because we're all nerds.

So that's how things are going at the moment. I've got to go, as my lunch hour is ending, but I'll be sure to post about the trip up for the wedding.

Working hard for the money! also: Politics!

So hard for it honey! Yep. I've been at this full time job for three weeks now. I'm still trying to adjust to my new schedule. (It's hard to go from being unemployed for six months to working full time.) I'm actually really enjoying being back at a desk again, and being surrounded by people instead of being alone in the house.

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I've been working on a super secret project for a long while now; at least for the last month, if not longer. The process has slowed down a bit since I started working again, but it's coming along quite nicely. It's a comics project, and it will be posted on the web. That's all I'll give away. Right now I'm still in the middle of finalizing character designs. The main outline of the first story arc is written, and I'll begin thumbnailing soon. I probably won't be posting anything up on the web until I've completed the first arc and am well into the process of working on the second, just so I can see how long each bit of the process takes.

I'm really excited about it, as it's the first time I've put so much work into a comic. The story for the first arc is pretty solid as well, and has a theme and everything! I feel like I'm doing proper work for once. And it's weird not to talk to anyone about it (save my husband and a close friend), but I think that it's been very beneficial for me not to. So... watch this space. I will update about how the process is going along, as well as when the project will finally go live.

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I experienced a historical event here in the UK last week. On Thursday evening, I (and millions of other viewers) watched the first ever televised Prime Ministerial debate. I'd only just become interested in the debate process back during the 2008 US Presidential campaign, to be honest, especially the first ever Vice Presidential debate between Joe biden and Sarah Palin.

At first, the British politicians (Gordon Brown for the Labour Party, who is the current PM; David Cameron for the Conservatives; and Nick Clegg for the Liberal Democrats) seemed a bit stiff and extra formal. I found myself wondering when (or even if) the debate would heat up and they would start speaking over one another. Amusingly, it didn't take as long as I'd thought. There was a LOT of back and forth, a few deep digs (seeing Gordon Brown verbally flip off David Cameron was a highlight for me), and anecdote after anecdote (mainly from David Cameron). Nick Clegg made a grand showing, and proved to both Labour and the Conservatives that he was much more of a viable choice for voters than either opposing party ever thought possible.

In light of the public opinion polls after the debates, it looks as though the Liberal Democrats have a really good chance of winning the election. Before the debate? It was split nearly evenly between Labour and the Conservatives. This revelation was the most interesting thing to come out of the debate for me. Not only because a third party is seriously in the running here in the UK, but the fact that perhaps the US might take notice and we'll see a third party candidate who actually has a shot at winning in the next couple of decades. And perhaps the mentality that voting for a third party is a wasted vote will diminish.

It may not happen, but one can hope.

Posh Giraffe, Harold, and plans for 2010

The posh giraffe triptych is finally up in the Etsy shop, and I think it's my best yet:

And here are a couple of pictures of Harold, my first attempt at a crochet plushie:

I just found out that I have a job interview next week, so I'm pretty excited. It's a call center for the NHS, and is fairly nearby. I'm really hoping I get it, if only to feel as if I'm pulling my own weight around here.

I'm working on some ideas for new paintings, as well as something that for now I will just refer to as "Project Twee." More information about that will come in a later post.

2009 has been a long difficult year, from being in a long distance relationship, to getting married, quitting my job and moving to England to be with my husband, going through culture shock and depression, dealing with being unemployed and feeling unemployable, and catching flu after cold after flu. It was a year of massive flux. I'm hoping 2010 will bring a bit more stability, and will be the year I really go for it as an artist.

If I was to make any New Years resolution, it would be to not let myself down or sell myself short. I've spent too much of the last 26 years doing that.

I hope you all have a lovely night, whether you celebrate through the night or have a quiet evening in and go to bed at ten. May the new year give you a fresh start, as I hope it will for me.

Interlude: SO MUCH GOING ON OMG

The next post will be about starting to pack... I have started, mind you, but just barely. Mostly it's still been sorting and listing things on CraigsList.

Towards the end of last week, I realized that if I wanted my visa in a reasonable amount of time, I was going to have to hire an expediter. If the consulate hasn't opened my package yet, they should be able to pick it up and resubmit it for me, shaving off many torturous days from my wait. I won't lie, it's been killing me. I've had more than a few panic attacks about the whole thing.

Because the British consulate in Los Angeles is closed for the next couple of days due to an IT upgrade, the expediter won't be able to request my documents until Wednesday (again, provided they haven't been opened already). If all goes according to plan, they'll resubmit on Thursday, I'll get approved same day, and I should have passport with visa in hand by Friday or Saturday (depending on when the post goes out).

On top of that, Tuesday is my last day at work. I'll be tying up all loose ends over the next couple of days. And then I can throw myself fully into packing and getting rid of stuff.

I'm crossing my fingers that everything works out, and that I'll be in England come two weeks time.